English         -          Tarantula

Portuguese  -          Tarantula

Latin             -          Theraphosa apophysis

Tarantulas give some people the heebie jeebies because of their large, hairy bodies and legs. But these spiders are harmless to humans (except for a painful bite), and their mild venom which is weaker than a typical bee sting. Among arachnid enthusiasts, these spiders have become popular pets. 

Tarantulas can live up to 30 years in the wild. They periodically shed their external skeletons in a process called molting. In this process, they also replace internal organs, such as female genitalia and stomach lining, and even regrow lost appendages.

There are over 700 tarantula species found in most of the world’s tropical, subtropical, and arid regions. They vary in color and behavior according to their specific environments. Generally, however, tarantulas are burrowers that live in the ground. Tarantulas are slow and deliberate movers, but accomplished nocturnal predators. Insects are their main prey, but they also target bigger game, including frogs, toads, lizards and mice. The South American bird-eating spider, as it name suggests, is even able to prey upon small birds. A tarantula doesn’t use a web to ensnare prey, though it may spin a trip wire to signal an alert when something approaches its burrow. These spiders grab with their appendages, inject paralyzing venom, and dispatch their unfortunate victims with their fangs. They also secrete digestive enzymes to liquefy their victims bodies so that they can suck them up through their straw-like mouth openings. After a large meal, the tarantula may not need to eat for a month. 

The tarantula’s own mating ritual begins when the male spins a web and deposits sperm on its surface. He copulates by using his pedipalps (short, leglike appendages located near the mouth) and then scuttles away if he can—females sometimes eat their mates. Females seal both eggs and sperm in a cocoon and guard it for six to nine weeks, when some 500 to 1,000 baby tarantulas hatch.

Tarantulas have few natural enemies, but the parasitic pepsis wasp is a formidable exception. Such a wasp will paralyze a tarantula with its sting and lay its eggs on the spider’s body. When the eggs hatch, wasp larvae gorge themselves on the still living tarantula.     

These spiders are amazing to see in the wild. Once you get over the initial shock of coming across one, you are in awe over their presents. They don’t want to harm you, infact, once they sense you, there first instinct is to go the other way. Amazing creatures. So fortunate to have come across 2 different types in 2 different locations.

Photo # 1 was taken at Alfredo Chaves Espirito Santo.

Photo # 2 was taken at Morro Do Moreno, Vila Velha Espirito Santo.